Vol. 33, Issue 8* August 2017 * Christ Episcopal Church, Norway, ME 04268 * 207-743-6782 Dear Ones, As I write this, I m less than 24 hours away from surgery. By the time you re reading, I m confident you have received word that all went well, and I m home recuperating. As I have shared in previous messages, I have plenty of in-home support from family and friends. My best friend just called, laughing, and said, I decided that if something went wrong tomorrow, I wouldn t want our last conversation to be via text message! We chatted a bit, and then she said the thing her family always says to people going on a trip, or going into surgery: I love you. Don t get dead. (She said this just before I left for Germany this spring, too.) How different might our encounters with others be if we kept the possibility that this would be our last conversation? How important it would be for us to remind each other that we love each other. And what is preventing us from doing just that? So while I fully intend to not get dead (and how embarrassing it would be if these really WERE my last words to you all!), I do want to remind you that I love you, and am so happy to be your rector. I ask that you give me space and time to do the work of healing. I ll see you all in a few weeks, with a new hip. As I said to the kids last Sunday won t it be fun to dance again!? Blessings, Nancy+ Late August Schedule As a way of easing Nancy back into leading worship after her surgery, the wardens of Christ Church and council president of Trinity Lutheran proposed that we do combined services the last two Sundays of August. August 20 will be at 10:00 AM at Trinity Lutheran (followed by a pot luck/picnic). August 27 will be at 10:00 AM at Christ Episcopal. 2017 CHRIST CHURCH LEADERSHIP DIRECTORY Rector: The Rev. Canon Nancy L. Moore Deacon: The Rev. Lanny Wenthe Members of the Vestry Parish Secretary: Linda Caradonna 743-6782 Mary Bickford 515-1521 Warden:: Barbi Tinder 928-3603 Ted Kehn 527-2313 Warden: Sue Emerson 743-5406 Jen Lehr 743-6677 Clerk: Frances Martin 743-0011 Kelley Wallace 890--4288 Treasurer: Tom Knight 743-8629 1
MILE OF PENNIES We continue to collect pennies. Please bring your pennies to church and deposit them in the jar on the shelf outside the office. They will benefit the Church Periodical Club to provide grants for books and materials for children. AUGUST CALENDAR AUGUST BIRTHDAYS 05 Nancy Moore 06 Tom Whitney 17 Ronald Parsons Sarah Beth Brown 19 Sue Emerson 21 Bonnie Trundy 27 James Tinder 06 10:30 A.M. The Rev. Ray Mitchell 08 6:00 P.M. Ice Cream Social at St. Catherine s 09 10:00 A.M. Embracing the Silence 13 10:30 A.M. The Rev. Ray Mitchell 20 10:00 A.M. Combined service at Trinity (followed by potluck/picnic) 23 10:00 A.M. Embracing the Silence 26 8 A.M. Noon Christ Church Yard Sale (Lobster roll luncheon at Trinity) 27 10:00 A.M. Combined service at Christ Church Mid-Week Eucharist at 9:00 A.M. every Wednesday ANNIVERSARIES IN AUGUST 01 Donald & Cece Adamson 02 Walter & Kim Perry 07 Douglas & Janet Wall 11 Scott & Dawn Bickford Peter & Mary Bickford 22 Jose & Carolee Garcia 31 Tom & Alison Whitney Do you want to get your Beehive by email? Just let us know! PROJECT ANGEL TREE Project Angel Tree is an Outreach project for our church. We purchase Christmas gifts for children who have an incarcerated parent. The gift is then given to the child from that parent. CHAPEL SHEPHERDS August: 06 Kathy Whittier 13 Kathy Whittier 27 Martha Eaton You can sponsor a child for $50, share a child, or donate money and have our committee purchase gifts. I will be looking for any help you can give on August 27th at the combined 10:00 A.M. service. Thank you. Susan Morin, for Outreach Keep current with events at Christ Church. Website: www.christchurchnorway.me Facebook: Christ Episcopal Church- Norway, Maine SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:30 A.M. EUCHARIST Wednesday at 9:00 2
LET S PACK THE BUS!! We are once again gathering school supplies for the local Pack the Bus program. This program was launched locally 18 years ago, and items collected are divided among all the local schools and distributed to students whose parents cannot afford items necessary to begin the school year. All items are greatly appreciated whether backpacks for K 12 students, or notebooks, pens, erasers, crayons, pencils, dividers, lunch bags, etc. There is are collection boxes in the Guild Room. We will continue the collection until early in September.... the choir will be a "pick up" choir for the summer - those who want to sing be there early on Sunday to rehearse... (10ish). And if anyone has a talent he/she would like to share please speak to me or Pastor Nancy! Susan Glines, Music Minister CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 35 Paris St., Norway NEW TYPE OF YARD SALE Rent your table now! ANNUAL ICE CREAM SOCIAL Our annual ice cream social with St. Catherine s church will be held on Tuesday, August 8, at 6:00 p.m. As usual, it will be outside on the front lawn of St. Catherine s Catholic Church. If it rains, we will be inside St. Catherine s parish hall. There will be a few folding chairs but bring your own chair so you can sit where you want! Beginning next Sunday there will be a sign-up sheet for homemade toppings, berries, whipped cream, cakes, and brownies, as well as for workers to set up, serve, and clean up. This is a fun event each year to honor our covenant with St. Catherine s so mark your calendars for the 8 th of August and bring your families, neighbors, and your appetites! Tickets are available in advance or at the door - - $5 each, children 10 and under are free! Any questions, contact Carlyn Kroitzsh. Saturday, August 26, 2017 8 A.M. - Noon Tables can be rented for $10 and/or a larger space with NO table for $15.00. Space will be available inside and outside. Make your reservation today by calling Kelley at 890-4288 or Jason at 890-6480. A Lobster Roll luncheon will be available at Trinity Lutheran Church Buckfield Road, So. Paris 3
Photo by Barbi Tinder Life is full of journeys! Our parish consists of individuals and families that live close by and some who travel a distance to participate. Some are year round and some are seasonal. Some were summer visitors and are now year round parishioners. Others were year round and are now seasonal members. The joys of reconnecting and the joys of new connections are some of our journeys in life. Re-connections sprout like the spring growth and the surge of nature that surrounds us. As we live and grow together, we as a parish are growing in our joint partnership with Trinity Lutheran. Drawing on nature, there are times when the path ahead is light bright and sometimes the light is shrouded and misty. This summer your vestry and Trinity Lutheran's council has begun a process of a Mutual Study of Ministry. This is an Episcopal process of assessment, review and a structured check-in for planning. We are at the beginning stage and are gathering information. This is the first time that Christ Church is using this process. Much like the photo, Some of the time this path may seem a bit foggy and the light will find a way to shine through. The vestry will be giving periodic updates to the process. Barbi Tinder Warden 4
The Deacon s Lens It seems as if a cloud of incivility has settled over our country. Manners have disappeared with respect for others, violence is worse than ever and shows no signs of receding. When I was a child my parents gave my siblings and me short, but frequent, age appropriate lessons in the appropriate ways to introduce, address and converse with others. We were taught to respect opinions we did not agree with and to refrain from name calling and threats against others, and above all tell the truth. I remember the conversation I had with my four year old daughter when she called the father of a girl who had hurt her a pack of peat moss. Although I found the epithet hilarious and creative, disrespect and name calling were the issues discussed. These days society has become self-serving and disrespectful. If you aren t with me, you are against me; if you don t agree with me you are stupid; if you are in need, it is your own fault so don t look for a free ride. We lack respect for the feelings and situations of those we consider to be not one of us. What I have observed is a gradual dumbing down of mores. I am thinking in global terms here, and not in individual accusations. I am thinking of THINKING thinking before we speak, thinking before we condemn, thinking before we accuse, thinking before speaking untruths, thinking before hurling insults, and thinking before even considering inflicting emotional or physical harm on others. Rev. Lanny STEWARDSHIP IS MANY THINGS Do you like strange words? Well...have I got a doozy (which itself is a strange word) for you: eleemosynary. Pronounce it any way you like, I don t care. The Oxford {England} Dictionary defines it thus: 1. of or dependent on alms; 2. charitable; 3. gratuitous. The dictionary goes on to define gratuitous as: 1. given or done free of charge; 2. uncalled for, unwarranted, lacking good reason. I first met that word eleemosynary years ago at a workshop on stewardship. I thought then that the presenter was just showing off by using it repeatedly as a synonym for stewardship. Except I don t think it is a synonym for stewardship, really. It has an air of silliness about it: Oh, sure, you can go around throwing money out your car window as you drive along if you want to, but why be ridiculous? That would fit eleemosynary, but it would lack the serious deliberation of reasons for giving and where to place one s giving so as to be a part of GOD s work in the world. That is stewardship, to my mind. We have been blessed by the gift of life itself and all that sustains it, by the many ways in which life continues to flourish., sometimes against all odds. The long arc of history bends toward justice and mercy, and GOD invites us to respond to all that we are given by using those gifts to participate in the increase and expansion of justice and mercy. We can t just wave money in those directions, though money is a necessary ingredient in that work. It also requires us to do justice and mercy with, for, to others, near at hand and far away. So, please, don t be silly about your stewardship. Use GOD s gifts for GOD s work. Br. Matthias Tanner, O.S.L. 5
CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 35 Paris Street, Norway, ME 04268 2017 WORSHIP & OTHER PERSONNEL AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2017 PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO SERVE ON A SCHEDULED DATE, PLEASE FIND A REPLACEMENT. LET THE CHURCH OFFICE KNOW THAT PERSON S NAME BY THE TUES. MORNING BEFORE YOUR SCHEDULED DAY. Coffee Hour will be AFTER church. Coffee is also available in the Guild Room before the church service. Service at Trinity AUGUST 06 AUGUST 13 10:00 A.M. AUGUST 27 EUCH. MINISTER Priscilla McFarland Sue Emerson none needed Allan Crane ACOLYTE Doug Wall Jason Wallace Peter Hammond none needed Priscilla McFarland LECTORS P. McFarland OT/Pr. T. Kehn Ps./NT S. Emerson-OT/Pr. S. Jones-Ps./NT none needed A. Crane OT/Pr. Br. Matthias Ps./NT USHERS Martha Eaton Rosemary Laban Steve & Carol Jones none needed Beulah Ayer Wes McFarland COUNTERS Priscilla McFarland Tom Knight Peter Hammond none needed Carolyn Tanner Priscilla McFarland COFFEE HOUR Kathy Whittier Pam Manninen none needed Carolee Garcia ALTAR GUILD July 29 Aug. 11 Jan Wall Merton Lord Aug. 12 Aug. 25 Martha Eaton Thelma Cunningham none needed Aug. 26 Sept. 08 Mary Bickford Carlyn Kroitzsh EUCH. SEPTEMBER 03 SEPTEMBER 10 SEPTEMBER 17 SEPTEMBER 24 MINISTER Peter Hammond Carlyn Kroitzsh Tom Knight Barbi Tinder ACOLYTE Doug Wall Sue Emerson Priscilla McFarland Jason Wallace Peter Hammond LECTORS P. Hammond OT/Pr. R. Laban Ps./NT C. Kroitzsh-OT/Pr. T. Kehn-Ps./NT T. Knight-OT/Pr. Br. Matthias-Ps./NT B. Tinder OT/Pr. K. Willoughby Ps./ USHERS Herb Somers Rosemary Laban Wes McFarland Beulah Ayer Martha Eaton Tom Knight Donald Adamson COUNTERS Peter Hammond Priscilla McFarland Carlyn Kroitzsh Tom Knight Carolyn Tanner Peter Hammond COFFEE HOUR Carol Jones Bernice Kehn Carlyn Kroitzsh Kathy Whittier ALTAR GUILD Aug. 26 Sept. 08 Mary Bickford Sept. 09 Sept. 22 Bernice Kehn Sept. 23 Oct. 13 Jan Wall Carlyn Kroitzsh Bonnie Trundy 6 Merton Lord